MERRITT — British Columbia's forest safety council has issued an unusual safety alert after a forestry worker narrowly escaped a pack of wolves while working in the province's southern Interior.

The bulletin states a woman working for a forest management firm was approached by at least five aggressive wolves while she was working near Merritt two weeks ago.

The warning said the wolves came within three metres of her, and as she reached for a can of bear spray, one of her two dogs tried to take on the pack.

Tanya Lawes, of Lawes Forest Management said their employee managed to make it back to her truck uninjured and called for help. However, the dog that tried to protect her against the wolves was severely wounded.

"Once (she) got to the truck and got the other dog in there, she called to heel her (other) dog and it came, but it was pretty injured and once she got to Merritt, they had to put it down," said Lawes.

She said human encounters with wolves are extremely rare.

"It's not normal to come across wolves or to have them act like that, that's for sure," she said. "It's more likely — if you're going to have an animal encounter — that it's a moose ... or we've had a cougar and bears, but not wolves before."

The bulletin advises that anyone who encounters wolves should raise their arms to make themselves appear larger, make loud noises, and use bear mace if the animals get close enough. (CFJC)

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Forest worker encounters aggressive wolf pack near Merritt

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